Joshua Business Directory & Community Guide 2023 | Page 12

HISTORY

The ‘ Crosstimbers ’ of Johnson County is Joshua

Before the city of Joshua became what it is today , the land was known as “ Crosstimbers ,” a wooded strip of land that bisects Texas and divided Johnson County into the east and west prairies .
Joshua ’ s first community was Caddo Grove , two miles west of present day Joshua . It was a selfsufficient town until the railroad ( Gulf , Colorado and Santa Fe ) laid tracks between Cleburne and Fort Worth .
Joshua ( named after the biblical character ) was platted in 1880 and organized with the arrival of the railroad in 1881 . The first store ( containing the post office ) opened the following year . Caddo Grove ’ s post office closed soon after .
By 1890 Joshua was thriving with a respectable 300 citizens , two steam mills which doubled as cotton gins , a hotel and a newspaper . A one-room school opened in 1890 and in 1899 a larger school was built which became the high school in 1917 .
Before Joshua was established , Methodists worshipped at the Caddo Grove and Marystown communities . A Methodist church was organized in Joshua in 1883 with assistance from the Marystown church . Constituted as part of the Methodist Episcopal Church , South , the congregation is now known as First United Methodist Church of Joshua .
The town suffered fires in 1900 and 1912 , but still managed to thrive . In 1906 a public water system was installed and gardens and orchards sprang up around the community .
The Fort Worth South Traction Line ( interurban service ) connected Cleburne with Fort Worth and in 1912 Joshua became a stop .
12 Joshua Visitors guide | 2023